Chapter 304 : I Don’t Trust You
Chapter 304: I Don’t Trust You
Just as Chen Ming was about to leave, the woman in white beside him saw the “Holy Lord” in danger and cried out in alarm, “Stop!”
She then leapt forward, rushing out like a moth to the flame.
Such an act was no different from seeking death.
Even the Divine Repository Realm expert guarding nearby didn’t bother to act. Several of his subordinates simultaneously unleashed streaks of black blood-colored light.
Each of them was a First Grade Martial Artist. How could a mere Second Grade like the woman in white withstand it?
Just as she was about to be engulfed by the blood light, she let out a sharp screech. Her entire body transformed into a white flame, her speed suddenly increasing as she pierced through the interception of the black light and landed atop a stone pillar.
The moment she touched it, the pillar collapsed.
Boom!
The ground quaked violently.
Chen Ming suddenly felt an immensely violent force rapidly surging up from beneath the ground. His expression shifted slightly. “This is—”
Everyone present sensed it. While they were still in shock, a surge of crimson lava erupted from the bottom of the lava pool, engulfing the majestic bird and the black bear.
“Not good!”
The man in purple robes roared, “Run!”
In the next second, a power of unimaginable terror erupted.
All Chen Ming could see was blinding brightness—his vision flooded by searing light. He only had time to activate his defensive Gang Origin before feeling as if he had been struck by an eighteen-wheeler truck and sent flying.
This was pure destructive force—everything in its path was obliterated.
——
At the moment of the explosion, everyone on Elysium Island sensed it.
“This power...”
“Damn, is it the Holy Beast?”
“So terrifying—”
“Who are they? How dare they provoke that beast?”
“…”
Several figures flew out, arriving at the explosion site within seconds.
They stared at the massive circular crater spanning several li across the ground, stunned speechless by the sheer devastation.
A total of four people had arrived. They stood on opposite sides of the crater, eyeing each other warily.
Suddenly, a woman spoke through gritted teeth, “It must be the Moon God Cult! They’re truly ambitious—how dare they lay hands on the Holy Beast!”
An old man across from her coldly snorted, “No wonder the Moon God Cult always remained neutral, never siding with anyone. So their true target was that near-shapeshifting beast.”
His tone held no reverence toward the island’s guardian beast—if anything, there was hostility.
“I wonder how the Holy Beast is now.”
“If the Moon God Cult dared act, they must be confident.”
“What do you know? If the Holy Beast were so easily dealt with, how could it be the island’s guardian? For the Moon God Cult to set its sights on it—they’re courting death.”
“So, that beast hides deeper secrets?”
“How laughable. Why should we tell you?”
While they were speaking, three battered figures flew out from below—the woman in red, the man in purple robes, and the massive black bear.
All three looked severely injured.
“Why didn’t you stop that woman earlier?”
The man surnamed Li was furious, nearly losing his mind. “We were this close to succeeding. Just a bit more…”
The woman in red looked grim. “What’s the point in talking about that now? Focus on surviving this next crisis.”
The moment they revealed themselves, the four onlookers tacitly surrounded them.
The woman among the four spoke, “Envoy He, our Elysium Island has treated your Moon God Cult generously. To show goodwill, we even invited you to reside here. Yet you harbored ulterior motives and even smuggled a fellow Divine Repository Realm cultivator onto the island to harm our guardian Holy Beast. Today, we cannot let you leave.”
The woman in red smiled faintly and turned to the other two. “Elder Zhao, how about we join forces and kill these two? Then, Elysium Island will be yours, and the Icefire Phoenix will belong to us.”
“Sounds good!”
With that, a battle of epic proportions erupted on the spot.
——
“Where… am I?”
Chen Ming felt pain throughout his entire body, deeply embedded into the rock strata.
He was in terrible shape. The earlier explosion had left him gravely injured. Though not fatal, he wouldn’t be recovering anytime soon.
There was nothing he could do. Despite his strength far surpassing most First Grade cultivators, nearing Divine Repository Realm power, he had one glaring weakness—his physical body’s durability was far inferior to those of the Divine Repository Realm.
The other two Divine Repository Realm cultivators had been even closer to the explosion and endured a greater impact, yet were still active. Their vitality, damage resistance, and regenerative ability far surpassed his.
“Thankfully, I had the Formless Treasure Garment.”
Chen Ming thought with lingering fear. That power had been terrifying indeed—worthy of being a peak Divine Repository. Just being caught in the shockwave nearly killed him.
He should steer clear of such excitement next time.
As he thought that, a voice suddenly rang in his mind. “Kid, you’re still alive?”
The voice was crisp and cold, yet brimming with irritable fire.
“Who’s there?”
Chen Ming was startled and asked.
The crisp voice spoke again, “Since you’re not dead, come over here.”
Immediately afterward, he felt an invisible force pulling him, lifting him out of the rock. That familiar sensation of spatial movement followed.
In the next moment, he arrived in a much larger space—and was instantly engulfed by a bone-chilling cold.
Even though his cultivation had already reached the point of resisting heat and cold, he still felt frozen.
This meant the cold was affecting his very soul.
At a glance, Chen Ming spotted the majestic bird from before. It was now encased in a crystal-clear block of ice, its form greatly changed. One of its wings had lost its flames, now bare and featherless, looking rather ridiculous.
Just like a wild pheasant that had all the feathers on one wing plucked.
However, that crystal-clear block of ice was still wrapped in that strange net.
Chen Ming quickly saluted. “So it was the Holy Lord. It’s such a relief to see you safe. But… what is this place?”
“This is a central hub of Elysium Island. Don’t worry—those two rat-like creatures can’t get in.”
“Since the Holy Lord pulled this junior here, may I ask what command you have for me?”
“I want you to do something.”
“What is it?”
“Remove that white net over the ice crystal.”
Chen Ming straightened up and said, “Apologies. I refuse.”
“What did you say?”
That voice turned cold, and Chen Ming instantly felt a bone-chilling cold surge into him, nearly freezing his Yin Spirit. “I said… I. Re. Fuse!”
In the next instant, he converted his Gang Origin to the water attribute.
Immediately, the intense cold he felt was significantly diminished, and his thoughts began to clear again. “If I’m not mistaken, once I remove the Binding Demon Rope, the first thing you’ll do is kill me, right?”
“Huh?”
The Icefire Phoenix’s voice turned utterly astonished. “Your True Essence… dual cultivation of fire and water… and you can switch flawlessly—this… how is this possible?”
It suddenly realized that the Gang Origin in this human’s body had shifted from fire attribute to water attribute.
This wasn’t a case of simultaneous dual cultivation where both types of True Essence existed—he had completely transformed fire attribute Gang Origin into water attribute.
Such an uncanny thing—it had neither seen nor heard of before.
Chen Ming didn’t mind that it wasn’t listening to him.
He understood well why this Holy Beast was so shocked. The earlier events had made everything clear—it was suffering from the torment of clashing ice and fire powers.
It was like a terminal cancer patient witnessing a fellow patient in the same ward suddenly make a full recovery—utterly unbelievable.
“How did you do it?”
The Icefire Phoenix’s voice grew frantic. “Tell me, and I’ll give you anything you want…”
“Anything?”
Chen Ming’s expression turned slightly strange. “Including recognizing me as your master?”
“What?” The Icefire Phoenix was infuriated by the suggestion, as if deeply insulted. “You’re a mere First Grade, and you dare dream of becoming my master? I could crush you with one finger.”
Chen Ming said calmly, “You are indeed powerful—so strong you could kill me with a single finger. But without me, you’ll be tormented by the ice-fire conflict forever. You’ll never escape it in this lifetime.”
“……”
The Icefire Phoenix fell silent.
A moment later, its voice grew much calmer. “Kid, stop dreaming. I’ll never acknowledge anyone as my master. Even a Primordial Embryo Realm old monster wouldn’t dare think of such a thing. Just ask for something more realistic.”
“Too bad. I don’t trust you,” Chen Ming replied. “No matter what other conditions I ask for, you can break your promise at any time. And I’d die without even a burial.”
The Icefire Phoenix spoke solemnly, “I can swear on the bloodline of the demon race.”
“Useless. I’ve never trusted any oath.”
Chen Ming knew very clearly the gap in strength between him and this Holy Beast. Any deal between them was nothing more than bargaining with a tiger.
Seeing that he couldn’t be reasoned with, the Icefire Phoenix became angry. “Kid, you’ve made me mad. If you’re so determined, then go die!”
Chen Ming wasn’t particularly afraid. “You’ve already self-detonated part of your bloodline power. You’re heavily injured and bound by the Binding Demon Rope. You can’t kill me.”
The Icefire Phoenix snorted coldly. “True, I can’t kill you. But don’t forget where this is. One last time—will you hand it over or not?”
Chen Ming slowly drew his sword in silence, answering through action.
“Hmph. Stubborn fool!”
With those words, Chen Ming once again felt the sensation of spatial transference. Pulled by that teleporting force, he was sent elsewhere.
——
Where is this?
Chen Ming landed and cautiously observed his surroundings. Immediately, he felt an incredibly pure wood-attribute Yuan Qi. Looking around, he saw lush greenery full of vitality.
The life force here was so intense that it even suppressed the water-attribute True Essence in his body—like heavy shackles weighing him down.
This was definitely not Elysium Island.
“A secret realm?”
Chen Ming speculated inwardly. Without hesitation, he converted his Gang Origin to the wood attribute.
At once, the suppressive force vanished. His Gang Origin, already vibrant with life, now felt completely at home—like a fish in water.
While healing his internal injuries with wood-attribute Gang Origin, he thought, “First the fire vein, then the ice cave, and now wood attribute. Could this place be related to the Five Elements?”
If so, it was no different from returning to his home field.
Although that was his thought, he didn’t act recklessly.
Since that Icefire Phoenix had thrown him here, it must be confident he couldn’t escape—perhaps even thinking it had him under control.
It would wait until it undid the Binding Demon Rope, recovered some strength, then come deal with him.
“Sigh.”
Chen Ming hadn’t expected things to escalate this far.
His earlier refusal had been out of helplessness. He knew clearly—if he undid that rope, the Holy Beast might very well kill him to silence him.
The reason was simple—he had witnessed its most humiliating moment.
Even if this phoenix had a generous heart and might spare him, he wouldn’t bet his life on its mercy.
Thus, the safest route was to have this phoenix acknowledge him as its master.
Now that he was a First Grade Yin Spirit and had fully mastered the Controlling Beast Art, he had a decent chance of subduing it while it was still bound—provided it didn’t resist.
He didn’t expect that this beast would have such means—controlling the core of Elysium Island and being able to teleport him away.
Chen Ming shook his head, tossing away those chaotic thoughts.
At present, he could only try to find a way to leave.
After some observation, seeing no immediate danger, he began moving, following his instincts in one direction.
His Primordial Wood True Art matched this environment perfectly. Every blade of grass and tree here seemed to possess spirituality—he could communicate with them.
“Can you tell me how to leave this place?”
Chen Ming released this thought. A gust of wind blew, and the plants swayed as if pointing him in a direction.
“That way? Thank you.”
He followed the guidance into the depths of the forest.
As he walked, the surrounding trees grew taller and the wood-attribute Yuan Qi even denser.
This direction seemed to lead to the heart of this area.
He felt he wasn’t on the wrong path.
“Hm?”
Suddenly, he spotted a peculiar-looking plant. It looked like a clump of grass but bore red triangular fruits.
“It’s actually Celestial Star Grass!”
Chen Ming was astonished. This was a spirit herb recorded in ancient herbals—believed to be extinct. It was clearly documented in the Purple Mansion Secret Volume as having miraculous effects on Yin Spirits, even aiding them in surviving lightning tribulations. Extremely rare and valuable.
He never expected to find it here.
Should he harvest it?
He hesitated for a moment, then decided not to stir up trouble and turned to leave—only for his waist to suddenly tighten, wrapped by a vine.
What the—?
Startled, Chen Ming felt a great force drag him to the ground, swiftly pulling him toward the forest’s depths.
The scenery on either side blurred by.
Moments later, a towering ancient tree appeared before his eyes.
“Holy—”
Chen Ming stared, stunned.